Today we’re releasing a new version of the BitPay wallet which adds PIN and fingerprint screen locking, a much-requested security and privacy feature for wallets on shared devices. We’ve also added new options for sending bitcoin to other bitcoin addresses and the BitPay Card.

Here are some more details on a couple of the major changes in our 3.1 release:

Optional Fingerprint and PIN screen locks

If you ever share your mobile device with friends, family, coworkers, or kids, you might not want them poking around in your bitcoin wallet. The new optional fingerprint and PIN screen locks protect your wallet app from unwanted intrusion and give it additional privacy protection.

A PIN alone won’t provide full security for the bitcoin private keys required to spend your bitcoin. If you want serious security for your funds, we strongly recommend creating a multi-signature (or "Shared") wallet in the BitPay app.

You can share a multi-signature wallet with trusted friends or split the private keys required to move funds between 2 or 3 of your own devices. This makes it almost impossible for even the most determined attacker to gain access to your funds.

Low-fee delay warning for transactions

If you receive a transaction with a low miner fee, we now let you know to expect longer confirmation times on the Bitcoin network.

If you’re the one sending transactions and want to change your wallet’s miner fee policy to increase confirmation speed, you can do so in your wallet settings under “Bitcoin Network Fee Policy.”

Download version 3.1 of the BitPay wallet now

We want your feedback!

Thanks for sharing your feature requests and bug reports for the BitPay app! If you spot any issues in your own use of the app, please report them on our BitPay and Copay issues page.